Your Thoughts On The BP Spill

Comment by Drilling Ahead on May 20, 2010 at 1:27pm

I did read a moment ago that Obama's attempt to raise the cap on what BP can be responsible for (75 million) is stalled in the Senate and not going to pass, He is blasting Republicans again for this. meanwhile Obama is demanding a public announcement from BP that they will pay all costs above the legal cap.
BP has already said they would do this several times publically. Will be interesting to watch this unfold as paying hundreds of millions above the cap may not set well with shareholders if not required by law.

Comment by Don York on May 21, 2010 at 12:24am

New member here, but have been following the DA discussions regarding this event for a while. Been out of the oil patch since the mid 80s and just have land experience, so you guys and your opinions are a great doorway for folks like me to get an honest and accurate understanding of what happened in the Gulf and what is currently happening, since the media reports are more or less tainted with sensationalism and half-truths-or worse. People like me and those who have zero oilfield experience really appreciate your comments and you willingness to help us make heads/tails of this thing. Saddens us all to consider the loss of life, but drilling has always carried some risk--just goes with the job I guess. This will likely cause some changes in the industry, but hopefully not so much we can't continue "drill here--drill now".
I do have one question and it involves the riser pipe, where the main "leak" seems to be coming from. I've seen crush or collapse specs on other casing sizes, but haven't seen one for that pipe. I'm curious what the specs are for that one--in layman terms if possible. Thanks again, and keep up the great discussion.

Comment by Don York on May 21, 2010 at 10:58am

From looking at the pics and videos, I thought there was DP sticking out of the riser pipe, with the riser pipe being about 20"-22" in diameter?

Comment by DeeperCheaper on May 21, 2010 at 10:59am

Hello Don,
Don't know where you would find specs on the riser pipe, but I feel safe in saying it would be stronger than any string of casing run in the well.

The riser did not burst or break. When the rig went down, it took the riser with it. From the schematics I've seen, it pretty much sticks up from the BOP about 1,500', then is kinked downward to the gulf floor, and a good portion of it lies on or beneath the seabed. I think there a couple of leaks along the length of the riser that are relatively minor compared to the total volume, but the majority of the oil is or was coming from the end of the riser on the gulf floor.

Hope this helps,

Deeper

Comment by DeeperCheaper on May 21, 2010 at 11:02am

Correct on the riser and drill pipe. The riser has been listed as 22", don't know if that is OD or ID, but I'm betting it's the ID. The drill pipe is 6 5'8" OD.

Deeper

Comment by DI on May 21, 2010 at 11:27am

Vetco HMF-Classs H 21 inch OD riser; 90 ft long joints with C&K and booster and hydraulic supply lines

Comment by Don York on May 21, 2010 at 11:58am

Thanks Deeper. I think that answers my question, since I've already seen the specs on some of the other casing.

To add my opinions to the questions asked in the header of this discussion (keeping in mind I have very limited knowledge in offshore drilling) I think BP is doing about all they can under the circumstances--except in their reluctance to release information to the public early on. As in all things tho, the old saying "The operator is ultimately responsible" comes to mind, and I'm sure as heck not going to point any fingers at a crew that is no longer with us. It took 9 months to get Ixtoc1 under control, and it was in only 500' of water and only 1.5 miles down.

The grilling the politicians gave BP, Cameron, Transocean, and Halliburton is mostly political bs IMO. It's mid-term election year, and they're trying to make themselves look good at the industry's expense. nothing new there--it's been going on since before I walked on a rig floor in the 70s--all from people who wouldn't know which end of a set of tongs to latch or which end of a set of slips to drop. And of course, since they haven't a clue what to do, they have wisely (thank God) opted to let the industry take care of getting the well under control--probably so they (politicians and uninformed public) can sit back and point fingers later.

Been reading some of the suggestions sent in on other websites. Gawd Almighty Dang!!--where do people come up with these ideas??????? Some, are seemingly workable ideas from knowledgable people--some are fantasy from absolute idiots. A nuke sent downhole?? Yeah, contaminate the entire play with Radium, Strontium 90, and find a couple of 3 headed glow-in-the-dark shrimp on your next seafood platter.
Thanks again.

Comment by Travis Baker on May 21, 2010 at 9:03pm

Few things to share/comment on:
I am a DD with offshore and inland experience, so my input will stem from that experience. There are a lot of coincidences here that would lead some people to believe that it was a deliberate attack. I really don't believe this is the case. It was a kick, a bad one, and it must have taken them by surprise when the BOP's failed to work. No Korean subs, no Obama underwater missiles, no 007 ultra deep water divers with hack saws...
The real question is why is everyone focused on the seemingly fast fixes instead of the real fix? They are drilling a relief well. That should be the focus as that will kill the well and stop all the leaks at once. No containment dome or dispersant can do that.
I was curious as to why they claim it will take 3 months to drill. I drilled a relief well on the shelf that only took a month or so. I understand that the water depth is 5k feet. But in a directional well, it doesn't matter. All we focus on is TVD and where the best place is to drill into the casing. It's a pain in the b*** to mill through the casing, but 3 months is just a crazy amount of time. Even if they set up 1/2 mile to the side and drilled down 8k feet, you're talking about a max MD of around 12k. Offshore, a 12k well will never take 3 months to drill.
So, what am I missing that would cause it to take 3 months? Any thoughts on why this isn't being reported on? I would assume that the media will focus on all the 'bad' stuff and the pictures that sell instead of what will stop the media frenzy.
Feel free to email me with any thoughts or questions. baketrab@yahoo.com

Comment by DeeperCheaper on May 21, 2010 at 9:16pm

Travis,
Look back on all the posts and see the casing program they apparently had to run to get to TD, and that wasn't successful. As I recall, the well had three strings of casing that came back to the mud line, and FOUR liners before reaching TD. I'm with you on the "no sabotage" thing......but as it unveils itself, this is a "well from hell"...and maybe that explains the three months...

Since you are technologically ahead of me on directional and intercepting existing strings of casing, I want to ask a question and get an answer.

If we (they) have the capability of drilling DIRECTLY into the 7" casing on bottom, just above the producing formation, why would they do that? That casing has never been perforated. Unless we get new data to the contrary, they would be spending a lot of money to get into a string of casing that has NO communications with the formation, except possibly at the mud line, where the casing seals are located.

Do you really think they intend to drill to the existing string of 7" and penetrate it?

Deeper...

Comment by Travis Baker on May 21, 2010 at 9:34pm

Agreed that this was probably a well from hell. The issue is that with a relief well, the only concern is tapping into the casing any point above where the oil is coming from. The relief well I drilled was a gas blowout that started under a production platform. The gas blew all the mud out from under the platform and it sank on top of where the BOP's were. They were able to shut in the BOP's but the riser/casing was broken under the BOP so it didn't matter.

What's the easiest way to explain this? Pick a point in the BP drillstring that is above the blowout and has good surveys and casing data. I don't know any specifics, so forgive my generalizing this thing. It would help to know how many casing strings, the sizes, which are producing how much of what type of hydrocarbon, etc. Anyway, once you pick your point you head in that direction with your relief well. You will want to be as close to 90 degrees as possible when you get within about 50 feet of the casing string you want to drill into. From there it gets very tedious. You have to pull out of the hole, then run in with wireline that has a magnet on the bottom. It will point to the closest source of magnetic metal to the hole. (again generalizing the wireline system, it's just how I understand it) Then you run your directional assembly back in the hole, and drill about 5 feet. Pull it all back out, get a new direction towards the casing, and repeat until you are right on the casing. Then pull out and get a mill and start milling into the casing. Again, over simplifying. Once you tap into the casing you will start catching some of the oil from the blowout. I'm sure there's a lot of pressure and MW calculations to deal with, but I'm sure they have that figured out. So, once you're into the producing string of casing, you start pumping heavy mud. Once it circulates through the BP casing and your own wellbore, they hydrostatic will kill the BP well and it will stop the blow out. Once that is done, you have the ability to do what you want. Set a packer, plug, cement, produce it through the new rig to get back some of that money you lost, whatever.

As far as your question, "why would we do that?", the purpose is to kill the well once and for all. Your comments about the 7" casing having no communication with the formation are confusing. The idea is to drill into the producing string of casing. The oil has to be coming from somewhere. If the bottom of the hole is the source, and the casing is set above it, then the casing is still the safest place to drill into as you wont wash anything out when you're circulating the heavy mud down there.

Did I answer your question in there anywhere?

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